Before Lucasfilm decided to make a whole movie out of stealing the plans for the first Death Star, there was a brief moment when we could have seen that on TV.

In the old Star Wars canon, Rogue Squadron - the legendary group of Rebel pilots who faced impossible odds and defied fate on the regular as ace pilot heroes - had a rather pedestrian origin. But now Rogue Group has been given its official, Disney-era origin, and it’s gotten a major connection to the new Star Wars movies in the process.

Within the context of most Star Wars movies, Darth Vader has been a figure that is both tragic and fearsome in equal measure. But in the decades since his first appearance, Vader’s reputation as a terrifying villain has been diminished by the other side of Star Wars: Its equally petrifying ability to turn everything into merchandise.

The First Order may have surprised the Resistance, as well as the audience, with its latest rebel scum-stopping device. But if Rogue One was any indication, it was a technological development we should have seen coming from light years away.

The firing of Phil Lord and Christopher Miller from the Han Solo movie feels like it could be a turning point for the rejuvenated Star Wars. We're learning a lot more about what Lucasfillm feels is acceptable within its universe and what isn't. The problem is that what's acceptable looks to be very, very narrow.

"Every story has a beginning..." or so the Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace tagline goes. So it makes sense that while Marvel has its ongoing adaptation of Rogue One in the works, this winter it's also going to reveal how the partnership of Rebel officer Cassian Andor and ex-Imperial droid K-2SO came to be in a new comic.

It's obvious at this point that there is enough Rogue One footage not seen in the film to basically make a completely different film... or, as the case may be, to include as bonus material in ancillary Rogue One products for years to come. It sounds like Marvel's upcoming comic adaptation of the film might be taking some of that material.

A new video just came online that seems to show several Rogue One characters suffering a fate different than the one they have in the film.

There's been plenty of talk about how the ending of Rogue One changed throughout production. Hell, you can see most of it in the trailers. But that wasn't the only thing that changed before the film hit theatres. The beginning was quite different, too.

Thought you knew all the Star Wars secrets of Rogue One? Think again. The recently released Rogue One: The Ultimate Visual Guide, written by Lucasfilm Story Group executive and master of canon Pablo Hidalgo, includes a ton of new facts about the Star Wars universe -- some cool, some surprising and some completely messed up.

The films we've as the best science fiction and genre films of 2016 are a very motley crew. This year we loved superheroes, animation, farting corpses, live action, talking animals, and more. These are films spanning different genres, disciplines, and themes, which experienced varied levels of success. Each is worthy of acknowledgment, though, so check out what we crowned the best of the best, and worst of the worst.

I had a million different thoughts in my head after I saw Rogue One, but one kept creeping its way back into my head: Rogue One felt like a live-action adaptation of a Dark Horse Star Wars comic, especially with its tone and focus on the ordinary people in these big galactic events. It got me re-reading Star Wars comics -- and if you loved Rogue One, you should read some of these too.

Inspired by the space battles of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, I've decided to take a stab at model building. And though Bandai Hobby's Red Squadron X-Wing Starfighter set is a simple snap and sticker affair, I'm really worried about screwing it up. Got any pointers?

We've discussed this already, but just so you can see it all laid out, here's a video by Vashi Nedomansky showing all 46 shots shown in Rogue One's trailers that didn't make it into the actual movie.

The Star Wars universe expanded in a whole new way with the release of Rogue One, the first in a series of live-action films exploring the bits between the main episodes. We assembled a ragtag band of Kotaku writers to talk about this very different sort of Star Wars movie.

Video: We already knew that Alan Tudyk's new Star Wars droid gives zero damns when it comes to carrying his allies' equipment. Turns out he somehow cares even less when it comes to handling high-grade explosives.

Not only is there more Darth Vader in this new international trailer for Rogue One, we also get the full exchange explaining the title of this movie and a bit more of Jyn Erso's (Felicity Jones) background.

Think your Rogue One: A Star Wars Story toy shopping adventure is over? Have you been to Kohl's yet? How about Walgreens? Entertainment Earth? Here are six sets of retailer-exclusive Hasbro Star Wars toys to add to your shopping list.